1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system printers, and more particularly to a system and method for cleaning a printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems generate large quantities of information in electronic form, which, in at least some instances, is transferred to a medium, typically paper, with a printing device. For example, a laser printer interfaces with an information handling system to accept electronic information, apply the electronic information to form a visual image on a drum with toner and a laser device, and transfer the electronic image to paper by heating the toner to fuse the image onto the paper. Typically, electronic components within the printer are kept separate from the printing process to prevent contamination of the electronic components. For instance, the laser forms an image on a drum for transfer to paper by illuminating the drum through a window, referred to as the ROS (raster output scanner) window. The laser forms the image with a raster or scan through the ROS window and across the drum that provides a horizontal series of dots onto the drum. In some instances, printed information is transferred to an electronic form with a scanning device. The scanner typically views the printed material through a window, often the same ROS window used by the laser, and translates the viewed image into electronic information.
Generally, in order to have a high quality print or scan of information, the ROS window must be clean from contaminants that block or distort light passing through the window. Efforts to maintain a clean ROS window face a number of difficulties. One difficulty is that a ROS window is typically located in a position that collects contamination, such as toner particles, paper and dust. The ROS window position often offers limited accessibility, such as through a narrow passageway that travels parallel to the path followed by the laser. Usually, the passageway provides access to a manual cleaning apparatus, such as a plastic shaft with a cleaning pad attached so that the ROS window can be manually cleaned if vertical streak lines appear in the printout, as often occurs when waste toner particles fall in the laser path. Manual cleaning of a ROS window is typically not very robust. For instance, in placing a cleaning stick with a cleaning pad in the ROS window passageway, foreign particles are often inadvertently added to the ROS window position, resulting in decreased clarity of printed and scanned images. Although instructions in a printer or scanner user manual may direct unidirectional cleaning motions towards the ROS window passageway exit, such instructions are often overlooked.